Activist sees hope in Cuba sentences

Activist sees hope in Cuba sentences
By ANITA SNOW | The Associated Press
August 31, 2007

HAVANA Four men involved in a prison uprising that killed two military
officers have been spared the death penalty, an encouraging sign for
opponents of capital punishment, a veteran rights activist said Thursday.

"What is relevant to us about this case is that no one was sentenced to
death," said Elizardo Sanchez of the Cuban Commission for Human Rights
and National Reconciliation. "We hope that this trend continues."

Sanchez said that relatives of the accused reported that an inmate and
an army recruit working as a prison guard received life sentences for
their involvement in the Dec. 20 uprising at the El Manguito prison near
Santiago.

He said two other soldiers working as prison guards received 30-year
sentences for involvement in the uprising, in which two military
officers were shot and killed and an inmate was wounded.

Cuba's government has released no reports about the uprising or the
trial, which reportedly was in June.

"We hope this is a good sign for 50 or so people currently on Death Row"
or who face a possible death sentence, said Sanchez, whose group wants
to eliminate capital punishment in Cuba.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/cuba/sfl-flacubapenalty0831nbaug31,0,5673193.story